Tuesday, April 30, 2013

In medicine, we document using SOAP notes. It is an abbreviation to help keep consistent format when logging information.

S=Subjective. What does the patient report. Subjective Data. This also includes the Chief Complaint (CC) which tells what the patients main problem is and History of Present Illness (HPI) a history of what happened to bring them in.

O=Objective. What exam findings do you gather. Objective Data.

A=Assessment. What is your Diagnosis, what differentials could there be (alternative diagnoses)

P=Plan/Education. What is the plan for the patient. What do you want them to learn?

How did I come to know Jocelyn? I was looking at the Paper Crafts Blog in April of 2012. New on the scene, I was trying to just figure things out. I didn't know who was who or what was what then. I saw the card below which was nominated for Stamping Royalty 2012 and thought, what a perfect card. How can this card be so so perfect? No smudging, straight, the color choice was a little different for a holiday card, but I think that is what made it so wonderful. I loved it! So I did something that I had never done before. I looked at the name of the artist who made it and tried to find her. I began following her blog immediately and I was hooked. She made hand made cards look professional to me. I would study her work trying to figure out how she did it. Then I found out a magical and scary word: DIGITAL. I admire what she has brought to the crafting world, digital that is beyond just print and cut. She is the master of digital, digital-hybrid, and 100% handmade stamped cards and is bringing digital to the mainstream. I usually chose designers whose work is very easily identifiable. For Jocelyn, it took me a little longer, but I can usually still identify her designs based on her aesthetic. I hope that after reading this, you will be able to pick out a Jocelyn card out of a line up as is the case for other DD candidates. (For the record, this card IS stamped, not digital) Next thing I knew, she was a fellow Paper Crafts Gallery Idol gal and I have loved her even more since!

Her creative resume is so so good. She has won numerous prestigious titles and contests, published a gazillion times and I think after you read about her work, and see what she can do, you will understand why.

Tell me about yourself, how did you and your husband meet?My husband and I met on a blind date. My mom and his dad worked together and had adjoiningoffices. They would talk about their kids and decided it would be a good idea to fix us up on ablind date. I was living in Texas at the time, and when I went to visit my mom at Thanksgiving,she sprung it on me that a trip to a sports bar to watch a basketball game would really be a blinddate. I was annoyed but went along with it. So my mom, brothers, and their wives were on ourfirst date to watch the basketball game at a local sports bar. Afterwards, I told my mom that hewas nice, but it wasn’t like anything was going to happen (“I live in Texas…he lives in SouthDakota…”).

A couple of weeks later, my (now) husband sent me a letter. It was before e-mail was asmainstream as it is now, but it was still romantic. We wrote letters back and forth for sevenmonths before we saw each other again. Within a week of seeing each other again, we prettymuch knew we would get married (that was 15 years ago).

Her husband Craig and daughter Leni at a historical quilt show. The quilt behind them is one Craig's grandmother made.

CC: I want it to be perfect. and if you do, digital is the way to go!

HPI: Jocelyn has turned us regular crafters into believers of the digital possibilities. She can manipulate images like no one I have ever seen. And just for the record, talking to Jocelyn is like therapy. She is very good saying and asking just the right questions to get you to talk AND feel better.

You will find that her cards are therapeutic also. The sentiments she uses convey messages of hope and promise...

markers. In my 20s, I dabbled in cross stitching and quilting but was pretty terrible at both. I

didn’t get into papercrafting until I was in my 30s.

Most pinned card?

I’m not completely sure since it’s hard to tell with Pinterest, but I know I had a bunch of pins on

a card from September 2011. It’s not my favorite card, but I still get weekly traffic on my blog

for this card.

The best way you can see a persons style is through a body of work. Let me show you what Jocelyn can do. These are some of my most favorites...

There is always an element of FUN in her designs.

It's difficult to discern which cards are digital and which are not. This one? Digital Hybrid!

She understands color.

You don't have to work hard to get the message.

Do you notice:

Her cards look like magazine ads. They are graphic, CAS, and bold. Her use of color is very conscious and purposeful and mainly because she can create just the certain perfect color that a regular stamp pad can't always touch.

Her cards are not SERIOUS, there is always a touch of fun whimsy to them. Even when the card IS intended to be serious, somewhere there is still fun. See the feather below? Just a little fun for an otherwise more serious card.

She uses nothing typical or ordinary. The fonts are fresh because they are different and computer based fonts. The possibilities in her designs are limitless.

****For fun I asked Jocelyn to show me how she creates a digital hybrid card from START to FINISH. WATCH!!!****

Whimsical Graphic Hybrid Design

In asking the community what makes Jocelyn stand out amongst the rest and what they like about her work...

JOSCELYNE CUTCHENS (PAPERCRAFTS MAGAZINE GALLERY IDOL WINNER 2012, OWNER OF BOSSY JOSCIE FLAIR): I love Jocelyn's style, it's cute but not cutesy, modern but not stark. She's not afraid to mix things up and use a punny sentiment, I absolutely love that about her. She's a whiz at piecing together digital and traditional for some of my favorite hybrid cards around. Jocelyn is also a super sweet lady with a cool name.HEATHER CAMPBELL (PAPER CRAFTS MAGAZINE GO TO GAL 2013, GALLERY IDOL TOP GALLERY IDOL TOP 10, STAMPING ROYALTY WINNER 2012): Jocelyn has some serious style when it comes to paper crafts. She's witty and the girl must have an amazing sense of humor because it radiates from her designs. Her knowledge of digital and hybrid cards puts her in a league of her own.LUCY ABRAMS(DESIGNER FOR HERO ARTS, STUDIO CALICO AND SIMON SAYS STAMP): Jocelyn is a ROCKSTAR!! Jocelyn has long been a favorite designer of mine. She combines style and fun effortlessly, using products in wonderfully unique and clever ways. I mean, look how cute THISdoughnut card is. Eeek!! And creating THISneon card with digi stamps... amazing. I always love seeing Jocelyn's cards in magazines. She truly is a talented and diverse card maker with a real eye for detail.

Think you want to join this genre?

Buy photoshop. One cannot do her body of work without it. It's the only way to get that crisp effect that is so typical of her work.

Clean it up. Jocelyn is a clean and simple gal. She flexes her design power with color and graphics

Don't be shy. Her designs don't hide. The sentiments and images are in your face telling you something...and you are gonna like it! So Go Big or Go Home!

How long have you been crafting?Almost 7.5 years ago, I walked into a Michael’s to look at cake decorations, and I saw thescrapbooking supplies. I was pregnant at the time, and as I strolled through the aisles, I had thebrilliant idea to make 100+ handmade birth announcements. A couple of months later, as I wastrying to match the various ribbons and patterned papers in the dark with a newborn on my lap,the idea didn’t seem so brilliant.I dabbled in paper crafting for gifts over the next couple of years and bought a die cutter tocut felt for crafty projects. It wasn’t until I found a fabulous nearby stamp store (The CraftingCottage in Corning, NY) about five years ago, though, that I really became immersed instamping and paper crafting.

If I had to pick a song that represented Jocelyn to ME, it would be this one:

Don't worry Be Happy by Bobby McFerrin. Her work is fun, happy, and always conveys a positive message.

Thank you Jocelyn for taking the time to answer the questions and giving me full access to your blogRed Balloon Cards.

Where did the name of your blog come from?

It’s from the book Goodnight Moon (Goodnight light, and the red balloon). My son was just a few months old when I started blogging. He was colicky and a bad sleeper, and I think that was one of the few phrases my sleep-deprived brain could come up with. The irony is, I don’t really like balloons very much IRL.

Many of you already know that our teamie at the Runway Inspired Challenge Blog Aga recently gave birth to a darling baby girl. In honor of this blessed event, our design team is having a baby shower. We were given this inspiration photo by Marc Jacobs:

Sure, polka dots would have been lovely. But a little glitter splatter makes it fun. If you want to know how I did this technique, click HERE.

The bow is a Silhouette file. I couldn't figure out where to put the sentiment, so I just printed out a repeating sentiment on my printer and popped it up on the bottom.

SO...what is up for grabs if you should win this challenge? A guest spot on RIC!!! So come and play!! And for oodles of inspiration, check out my beloved design teamies who are also excited to celebrate with the gorgeous Aga.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Picture it...March 2013, and I have to create a card for the upcoming A Blog Named Hero Anniversary Celebration and collaboration with Simon Says Stamp (say that 3 times!).

I wanted to make a card that impresses, so I set out way ahead of time and made this one:

It uses my favorite SSS die "ABSOLUTELY" and a Hero Arts/SC sentiment. A winning combination right? NOPE. Ever make a card and you only love it for like 5 minutes?

So I have finished orientation in my new job, I am exercising 4 days a week, I am losing weight, and I am feeling good. It's a great time to get back to my craft room (newly remodeled, did I mention that? photos to come just as soon as I can. But don't get your hopes up, it's not fancy or Pinterestable. Maybe when my kids are older and the space can be entirely mine). But I digress, I was speaking about cards.

I make this:

It's cool you know, for a boys card...and then I notice it. That little BENT corner on the right. Do you see it? IT WAS KILLING ME! I squinted and stared and tried to correct it with editor, but it was just staring at me like a piece of chocolate I couldn't eat.

so you know what I did, like any good cardmaker would do. I made another one...

this time I put glitter in it and stars and made it into a shaker card like it was intended to be (I screwed that up on the previous card too). And I photographed it and felt so good about the whole thing.

and

then

I started thinking. (bad idea) What do clouds have to do with gears? NOTHING. And I had the perfect washi tape to make the clouds work. THIS ONE:

My brain got all flustered with the idea of missing out on the perfect washi tape useage. Because I forgot that I HAD some of this washi tape. Then I decided that I needed a cup of tea and some frozen berries with vanilla yogurt to help me get through the crisis.

Sunday, April 21, 2013

It's Here! Our first issue of PaperCuts magazine for GCD Studios has arrived showcasing the new design team. This is a FREE online magazine featuring cards, scrapbook pages, home decor, and more. I am so proud of all of us who worked so hard to bring you a really great body of work.

A solid black and white card would be expected. Now we all know at RIC you have to kick it up a notch. That's just what the DT and contestants do. Soooo...I am always finding myself being pushed to create something our fearless leader Jen would be proud of. And you SERIOUSLY don't want to miss Virginia's card this time!

The chevron patterned paper was a gift from my pal Marcy for my birthday. thanks friend.

Gold Twine is Clear and Simple Stamps, Stamp set is Hero Arts/Studio Calico

The image is a Silhouette File Design ID #8177

And speaking of Jen...she was lovely enough to send me an original piece of artwork for my birthday which I promptly hung in the guest room :)

Isn't it beautiful? There is a little touch of gold glitter in it. Kinda feels like it was made just for me :) Thank you Jen.

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Here is her card for this week, and the one I chose as my top 10 also.

JJ and I both agree gold is the way to go, so I added a gold sentiment strip in honor of that!

Here is a blog buddy story: I was introduced to JJ early on in my blog career (you know like a year ago), I loved her work and gave her a Leibster award and we have been pals ever since :) She and I were Paper Crafts Magazine Gallery Idol girls together for 2012 too. You know that contest is coming up. Are you entering?

Friday, April 12, 2013

It's time to celebrate with A Blog Named Heroand this time we are showing off our projects using Hero Arts! It is no surprise that I love being on this team because I love Hero Arts! The fonts on their sentiment stamp sets, like this one called Cheer Up, are always right on trend. So go check out what the team has created today :)

To make this card I embossed the roses in the corner and then ran my Hero Arts ink pad on the surface in a random manner covering the card. Some hot pink washi, hot pink versamark ink and hot pink cardstock to mat the card and I was finished! Pretty Easy!

On another note, I MUST share with you some new cleaning products I recently purchased that has made my day to day cleaning SO much easier. I used to sweep my hard wood floors with a broom. Don't laugh. It was awful because then I would have to get the dustpan out too, it was a 2 step process and so annoying.

I have hardwood floors on my entire first floor; mopping it was just as painful. My mopping was always done Cinderella style...on my hands and knees and take hours. Sure I tried the swiffer and squeeze mops, but they never got out the crap that would be hard and stuck. I ended up scrubbing it with my hands and a cloth. Above is a picture of the family room when our floors got finished before we moved in to our home in 2011.

A Hoover Twin Tank Steam mop. Now I have seen these on QVC and thought they were a gimmick. I didn't believe the steam mop could clean that well. THEY DO! I mopped my entire floor in 30 minutes. It has a triangle head to get in the corners. It even got out the crusty crap that used to take serious scrubbing before.

So that's it for me! I have a lot more time on my hands now that cleaning is easy to help celebrate with A Blog Named Hero!

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

A Blog Named Herois having their one year anniversary! In celebration, we have month long festivities sponsored by some really wonderful companies! The first week's sponsor is Timeless Twine. They were generous enough to send me this great shade calledFIRECRACKER.

The twine made me feel patriotic, so out came my new Hero Arts set "Darling Sentiments" and I went right for the stars.

Theteam has some great designs for you on the blog if you want to check them out and win some prizes!

To me the photo translated into TEXTURE. I especially like the tone on tone texture in the girls sweater and so I translated that with the embossing of the tag and the silhouette cut file.

The prize up for grabs is some Bossy Joscie Flair!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You just have to play along. We have some of the best players around. Always impressive and inspiring. Speaking of inspiring, check out the design team: